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Children of perestroika: the changing socioeconomic conditions in Russia and Ukraine and their effect on the psychological well-being of high-school adolescents

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Abstract

The present study investigates how the changing socioeconomic conditions in Russia and Ukraine affect the psychological well-being of high-school adolescents in these countries. Six indexes of psychological well-being, the adolescents’ perception of the economic conditions in their families, perceived parental practices (care and autonomy providing), and perceived social support were measured in 1999 and 2007. Macro-level socioeconomic conditions in Russia and Ukraine, as well as the adolescents’ perception of the economic conditions in their family, substantially improved from 1999 to 2007. However, the psychological well-being of the adolescents, as well as their perception of parental practices and the social support received from parents, peers, and teachers did not change. Russian adolescents consistently reported higher self-esteem and school competence than their Ukrainian peers, as well as higher parental care and autonomy providing, and higher social support received from peers. At the individual level, perceived parental care and autonomy providing, as well as perceived social support from parents, peers, and teachers were the major contributors to the adolescents’ psychological well-being. The obtained results are discussed in light of the conservation of resources and ecological systems theories.

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Notes

  1. These indexes were chosen because: (1) they reflect a wide range of socioeconomic parameters; (2) they are provided by international organizations and their calculation is based on well-established scientific methodology; (3) data for these indexes existed for both 1999 and 2007.

  2. The international public organization Transparency International defines corruption as “the abuse of public office for private gain.” The Corruption Perceptions Index orders the countries of the world according to “the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians.” The Corruption Perceptions Index is a composite of independent surveys. A higher score means less perceived corruption. A score of five and above out of ten is a “clean score” demonstrating that a country is not corrupt [51].

  3. The international public organization Reporters Without Borders compiles Press Freedom Index by asking its partner organizations (14 freedom of expression groups from around the world) and its network of 130 correspondents, as well as journalists, researchers, legal experts and human rights activists, to answer 50 questions designed to assess a country’s level of press freedom. The survey asks questions about direct attacks on journalists and the media as well as other indirect sources of pressure against the free press. The lower the score of the Index, the higher the freedom of press [37]. This index began to be calculated from 2002; therefore, data regarding 1999 does not exist.

  4. The Human Development Index reflects achievements in the most basic human capabilities—leading a long life, being knowledgeable, and enjoying a decent standard of living. Three variables were chosen to represent these dimensions—life expectancy, educational attainment, and income. The Human Development Index is the product of a selected team of leading scholars, development practitioners, and members of the Human Development Report Office of the United Nations Development Program [52]

  5. The higher number of the adolescents’ siblings in 2007 probably reflects a success of governmental policy stimulating child birth in both Russia and Ukraine [14].

  6. Parental consent was not obtained in this study, because of a cultural norm existing in Russia and Ukraine that leaves the decision regarding participation in a study to adolescents. Psychologists conducting the study approached the adolescents’ parents asking them for their consent. However, the parents answered that this decision is a sole prerogative of the adolescents. However, the school principal’s permission for conducting a study was required according to the Russian and Ukrainian law. It was received after the content of the questionnaires was agreed upon with the school principals.

  7. Since externalizing and internalizing problems scores of the YSR were highly correlated with the total problems score, only the total problem score was used for correlation analysis. Correlation analyses are presented for the 2007 measurement; however, the obtained correlation coefficients were very similar in 1999 and 2007. Since the patterns of correlations in the Russian and Ukrainian samples were similar, the two samples were pooled.

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Acknowledgments

The author is profoundly thankful to the Russian and Ukrainian psychologists who helped to conduct this study. The author is also grateful to the adolescents who participated in this study.

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  1. The Bob Shapell School of Social Work, Tel-Aviv University, P. O. B. 39040, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Eugene Tartakovsky

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Correspondence to Eugene Tartakovsky.

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Tartakovsky, E. Children of perestroika: the changing socioeconomic conditions in Russia and Ukraine and their effect on the psychological well-being of high-school adolescents. Soc Psychiat Epidemiol 45, 25–37 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-009-0037-1

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